Bumblebee Gecko Discovered In Papua New Guinea

A new species of gecko has been discovered in Papua New Guinea that measures about 5 inches in length and is black and gold in color with skin nodules that help it stay camoflaged on the forest floor. The slender-toed lizard, discovered by biologists from the Papua New Guinea National Museum and the U.S. Geological Survey was found near the village of Sohoniliu on Manus Island in May 2010. The lizard (Nactus kunan) is so named because its colors are black and gold like that of a bumblebee (kunan in the local Nali language).

It has been described by Smithsonian Institution herpetologist George Zug and USGS Western Ecological Research Center herpetologist Robert Fisher in a paper published in the April edition of Zootaxa.

The research was supported the Smithsonian Institution, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the USGS, of which the USGS routinely collaborates on biological surveys with partner nations.